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The Gruffalo (film)

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The Gruffalo
North American promotional poster
Based onThe Gruffalo
by Julia Donaldson
Written byJulia Donaldson
Axel Scheffler
Directed byMax Lang
Jakob Schuh
Voices ofHelena Bonham Carter
Rob Brydon
Robbie Coltrane
James Corden
John Hurt
Tom Wilkinson
Sam Lewis
Phoebe Givron-Taylor
Theme music composerRené Aubry
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Germany
Original languagesEnglish, German
No. of episodes1
Production
ProducersMartin Pope
Michael Rose
EditorRobin Sales
Running time27 minutes
Production companiesMagic Light Pictures
Orange Eyes
Studio Soi
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Nick Jr.
Release25 December 2009 (2009-12-25)
NetworkZDF
Release24 December 2010 (2010-12-24)

The Gruffalo is a 2009 animated fantasy short television film based on the 1999 picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

Directed by Jakob Schuh and Max Lang, the film was produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures, London, and Orange Eyes Limited, in association with the award-winning Studio Soi in Ludwigsburg, Germany, who developed and created the film.,[1] and produced in association with the BBC, Nick Jr. and ZDF.

The cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Robbie Coltrane, James Corden, John Hurt, and Tom Wilkinson.

9.8 million people watched the UK premiere on BBC One, Friday 25 December 2009 and the film went on to receive nominations for both an Academy Award[2] and a BAFTA.[3]

It was screened in US theatres, distributed by Kidtoon Films. In December 2012, the film and its sequel The Gruffalo's Child premiered on television in the United States on Disney Junior, and in December 2017 – 2018, the film and its sequel premiered on television in the United States on the Disney Junior channel.

Plot

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In an autumn wood, a red squirrel mother finds a nut. Her children are playing until they see an owl. The mother squirrel drops the nut as she escapes from the owl, but her shocked children want her to tell them a story. So she tells the story of a mouse strolling through a deep dark wood.

The mouse tries to find a nut to eat but he can not reach it, so he makes a journey to a beautiful nut tree. Encountering three carnivorous animals along the way, who all wish to eat him—first a fox (who wants to cook the mouse), then an owl (who wants to eat the mouse for tea), and finally a snake (who wants to choke and eat the mouse) -- the plucky mouse uses his wits to survive. He lies to each animal that he is meeting a monster (calling his imaginary beast a ‘Gruffalo’), describes his terrible features, says that he is meeting him "here", and that the Gruffalo's favourite food is whichever animal he is being threatened by (roasted fox, owl ice cream, and scrambled snake). Each predator then panics and flees, but later they all gather and talk about what the mouse said, realizing they have been tricked.

The mouse feels so confident that he finally reaches the nut tree and suddenly comes face to face with a real Gruffalo, exactly as he had described it. When the Gruffalo catches and threatens to eat him, the mouse uses his wits again and says that everyone in the wood is afraid of him, asking the Gruffalo to follow him and see. As the two of them meet the animals again, the presence of the Gruffalo frightens them away, but the Gruffalo believes they are afraid of the mouse. As the Gruffalo prepares to eat the mouse, the mouse's tummy rumbles and he says his favourite food is Gruffalo crumble, causing the Gruffalo to retreat in fear. Finally safe, he finds the nut from earlier, which the Gruffalo had knocked down, and can eat it in peace.

When the mother squirrel ends her story, the children feel better and they all go to retrieve their nut as snow begins to fall. In the end credits, the house of the snake (Brydon) is seen.

Voice cast

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Background and production

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The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, was published in 1999 and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. In a BBC Radio 2 poll in 2009, the book was voted as the UK's favourite bedtime story.[citation needed] The book has been adapted into a 27-minute animated film, which was broadcast on BBC One in the UK on 25 December 2009. This new version features Robbie Coltrane in the title role and James Corden as the mouse as well as Helena Bonham Carter as the mother squirrel narrator and Rob Brydon as the Snake. The production was animated at the award-winning Studio Soi in Germany and produced through Magic Light Pictures. The film also has the voices of John Hurt as the Owl and Tom Wilkinson as the Fox. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated) on 25 January 2011. The film was also nominated for a BAFTA in 2010.

Reception

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The film premiered on BBC One, Christmas Day 2009, watched by 9.8 million people.[citation needed] Review website Den of Geek described it as an "utterly charming piece of magic".[4]

The film has been broadcast across the world, including on ZDF in Germany. It premiered on United States television on 9 December 2010 on ABC Family during its 25 Days of Christmas programming block.[5] It also aired on YTV in Canada on 18 December 2011.

The Gruffalo has been shown on Nick Jr in the UK and is distributed on DVD by Entertainment One. NCircle distribute the DVD in the US, Kaboom Entertainment, Phase 4 Films, and Nelvana in Canada, and Concorde in Germany.

A Scottish Gaelic version has been produced, with the voice of the Gruffalo provided by Bill Paterson. An Gruffalo was first shown on BBC Alba on Christmas Eve 2010.

The film has also proved a hit with festival audiences around the world. On top of its Academy Award and BAFTA nominations, it has also been awarded prizes at festivals including the Annecy International Animation Festival (France), Anima Mundi (Brazil), The Broadcast Awards 2011 (UK), Cartoons on the Bay (Italy), Chicago International Children's Festival (USA), CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival (Canada), Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada), Prix Jeunesse (Germany??), Sapporo Short Fest (Japan), Shanghai Television Festival (China) and Internationales Trick Film Festival (Germany). The Gruffalo was also nominated for the prestigious Cartoon d'or 2011.

Awards and nominations

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Ceremony Recipient Category Result
83rd Academy Awards[2] Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Best Animated Short Film Nominated
63rd British Academy Film Awards[3] Michael Rose
Martin Pope
Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Best Short Animation Nominated
Cartoon d'or[6] Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Cartoon d’Or Nominated
Anima Mundi Festival 2010 [7] Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Best Short For Children Won
Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2010 [8] Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Award For Best TV Special Won
Broadcast Awards 2011[9] Magic Light Pictures in association with Studio Soi Best Children's Programme Won
CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival 2011[10] Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Audience Award Won
Chicago International Children's Film Festival Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Best of the Fest Won
Ottawa International Animation Festival 2010 [11] Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Best Television Animation Made for Children Won
Sapporo Short Fest 2010[12] Jakob Schuh
Max Lang 		Children's Choice Award Silver Won

Sequel

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Main article: The Gruffalo's Child (film)

The sequel to the Gruffalo, based on the follow-up to the picture book, was shown on BBC One on Christmas Day 2011.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "highlights - 25.12.2010 euromaxx". Deutsche Welle. YouTube. 25 December 2010. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards". oscars.org. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  3. ^ a b "2010 Film Awards nominations". BAFTA website. 21 January 2010. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010.
  4. ^ Pete Dillon-Trenchard (26 December 2009). "The Gruffalo review". Den of Geek.
  5. ^ Robert Seidman (2 November 2010). "ABC Christmas Schedule". TV By The Numbers.
  6. ^ "Cartoon d'Or nominations". The Cartoon d’Or. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Anima Mundi Award winners". 11 August 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Annecy Animation Festival Award Winners". Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Broadcast Awards winners". Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  10. ^ Vlessing, Etan (6 June 2011). "'The Gruffalo' Takes Audience Award in Toronto". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Ottawa International Animation Festival Award winners". Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Sapporo Award winners". Retrieved 13 October 2011.
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